


Birthday Boy

by allthingskakashi



Category: Naruto
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Funny, I hope, Icha Icha Series, cause that was the intention, smutty mentions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:41:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26450554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allthingskakashi/pseuds/allthingskakashi
Summary: You are eager to make Kakashi’s Birthday a special one. But it may turn out to be harder than you think, with the involvement of a certain eternal rival, one who is also hell bent on making the day special for Kakashi with some ideas of his own.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Reader, Hatake Kakashi/Reader
Comments: 16
Kudos: 70





	1. 2 days to go!

**Author's Note:**

> Slight shift from canon as Gai is able to walk and retains full mobility even after the war

You let out a sigh, your eyes glancing over to the small desk calendar sitting in front of you.

_September 13th._

A photograph of bright pink cherry blossom trees stands out on the glossy white page.

 _Just one more day._ Just one more day and you still have absolutely no idea.

Your teeth grit unconsciously on the plastic cap of your pen as you look at the papers laid out on the table. You still have so much paperwork to get through. How, when or what you’ll plan for Kakashi’s birthday is beyond you.

You let out another loud sigh, the air making the papers in front of you shuffle just a little.

“Three.”

“Huh?” the voice brings you out of your stupor, and you look up at the purple haired woman sitting across from you, immersed in her own work.

“That was your third sigh.” Anko states, looking up at you with her eyebrows furrowed. “What’s going on with you?”

You lay your pen down on the desk, resting your forehead against your hands to massage your throbbing temples.

“Nothing, I’m just so overloaded with work, I barely have time to breathe.” You reply, dark bags under your eyes serving as witnesses. “And on top of that…Kakashi’s birthday is coming up and I really want to plan something special for him. But with all this work, I don’t know when I’ll get the time. And even more importantly, I haven’t the slightest idea what to do.” You say, leaning back against your chair to look up at the ceiling.

Anko stares back at you, her otherwise impassive face broken only by the slightest hint of sympathy behind her eyes.

“Really? Well, you better ask that old miser to pay up and throw us a party. He’s Hokage and what not now.”

Her words elicit an immediate eye roll from you. Protectiveness towards your boyfriend aside, that’s a completely ridiculous statement.

“Shouldn’t I be the one to throw HIM a party?” you retort as you slouch forward resting your elbows on the table, staring at your smirking friend in despair.

“What am I going to do, Anko? He’s been so busy since he became Hokage, I really want to make this one day special for him.”

The look on your face is so miserable, it makes even Anko soften up just a little. 

“I don’t know Y/n.” she shrugs, “I don’t usually stick around long enough to have to think of this kind of crap. Just hand him two beers I guess, put on a nice push-up bra and you’re golden.”

You narrow your eyes, shaking your head at her. “I have to give him a present too”

“Wear a bra with a bow on it.” 

If you didn’t know Anko better, you’d have thought she was joking.

You sigh again. This is a lost cause, talking to Anko about this.

“UGHHHHH!! You’re completely useless!!” you cry out, bending forward and making a show of banging your head against the wooden table as she laughs, watching you with a pitiful look.

“Hell-o Anko! Y/n! Correct me if I am wrong but I think I just overheard my dear rival’s name!”

A familiar voice fills the room and you stop to turn your head at the sudden intrusion.

It’s none other than Maito Gai, and the air surrounding you almost immediately livens up at his presence.

“I hear you are confused about what to do for Kakashi’s birthday! Fear not Y/n! I am here and I will help you make sure that my dear rival has the best birthday he has ever had in his entire life!”

You perk up at his words, looking at the man standing by your side.

Now _that’s_ the spirit you’re looking for.

“Thank you so much Gai! You came in at the right time! What do you have in mind?”

Gai hurries to take a seat beside you as you turn around to face him, your eager eyes widened with interest.

“Hmmm, let me think…” he puts a finger on his chin before clicking his fingers. “A nice intimate evening with good food and tasteful music and lots of activities to celebrate the Power of Youth!!!” he says, before standing up again with his fist in the air.

You let out a wide grin at his words, that sounds absolutely perfect.

A nice intimate evening, just you and Kakashi. You could maybe cook up something, he’s taught you quite a lot of recipes lately. And music, yes. He has never been one to listen to much music but it’ll set the mood.

 _And activities to celebrate the power of youth_ … yeah, you can surely think of quite a few of those. A red tinge creeps onto your cheeks at the thought.

How you would manage the time is still a question but now that you at least have a fair idea, you can probably work something out.

“Thank you so much Gai!” you say, clasping the man’s large hands with your smaller ones. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. That sounds absolutely perfect!”

His eyes light up at your words. “You are very welcome Y/n! It is only my duty as Kakashi’s rival!”

You can hear him mumble something else in the background but your mind is already wandering, flooding your brain with all sorts of visuals. _Expensive wine, the very best…a candlelight dinner…Kakashi looking so intensely into your eyes as you brush your foot up his leg under the table…bed laden with red rose petals…a night of passion…the spark in Kakashi’s eyes as he sees everything you’ve arranged so lovingly for him… a sensual melody playing in the background as he strips you of your clothes, one by one…._

You shake your head. Now is not the time to be getting carried away.

You return your attention to Gai, whose last few sentences you missed as your mind became preoccupied with thoughts of everything that you’d like the Hokage to do to you.

“—And leave it all to me!”

“Sorry, what was that, Gai?” you ask as you watch Anko out of the corner of your eye, looking as if she’s choking on air for some reason. 

“You heard me, y/n! I will set everything up, you don’t have to worry about a thing!” he sings, clasping your shoulders with his hands.

“Well thank you for the offer Gai but actually—”

“No! I won’t listen to a single word!” he shakes his finger at you, “you can leave it all to me! You go get on with your work! I will get the BEST caterer-

_Caterer? What do we need a caterer fo-_

“and hire the best singers in the village-

_Wait what is he talking about, am I missing something-_

And set up some great challenges for people to enjoy! I’m thinking 6000 push ups, a cake eating competition and of course the lucky winner gets a chance to compete with my one and only rival—

_Hold up-_

“And I will send out invitations to all his friends! All you have to do Y/n is bring him and yourself at my house on the evening of his birthday!”

_WAIT JUST A DAMN MINUTE-_

“Wait, GAI, I think there’s been a—"

“Please do not thank me, y/n! As Kakashi’s eternal rival, it is only my duty to make sure he has the best time of his life! I would be very happy to set everything up!”

“Um, no actually I—" you start, but you’re cut off quickly by the zealous man.

“Don’t worry! You can still take care of his birthday cake, I will leave that to your impeccable taste!”

“Right, sure but—"

“Well, off I go then! I have a party to plan!”

“Gai—” you make one last weak attempt but you’re so baffled by the pace of events that your feet stand glued. You stare dumfounded after Gai, watching him walk out of the room, skipping with every stride.

Beside you, Anko’s cheeks glisten with tears as she clutches her stomach with both hands, chortling in such a fit that almost makes her slip off her chair.

A sudden dizziness threatens to take over your senses. You stand frozen with your arms hanging limp by your sides, resisting the urge to fling yourself face first into a wall.

You throw another menacing glare at your friend, your gaze shifting between her and the door that Gai walked out of few seconds ago, before you plop down on the floor with a thud, sitting down with your legs crossed, gaping blankly at the tiled ground with your head between your hands.

 _What the **hell** just happened_.


	2. 1 day to go!

You force your eyes open at the sound of your alarm. Your skin feels damp against the heavy quilted blanket, the light from the windows is too bright and a headache clasps a tight grip on your forehead.

You shake your legs to get the duvet down your body and turn on your stomach to turn that horrible beeping off. Your hand flounders around your nightstand, knocking a few things down before you find the damn clock and pound it against the wall a few times until it shuts up.

Turning on your back again, you rub your eyes and sweep away the several strands of hair sticking to your face.

14th September, reads the calendar hung on the opposite wall.

 _Great. Another Monday._ And a day closer to Kakashi’s birthday.

You feel an instant panic rising to your throat at the thought. Kakashi’s Birthday. _Goddamn._

Gai has gone into complete party planner mode, you saw him rushing manically through the village over twenty-five times since yesterday, trying his hardest to be subtle; so you suppose you’re having a party after all.

You let out a sigh, massaging your temples. _God this headache is turning out to be a real bitch._

The thoughts start swirling in your head again.

Kakashi’s not really the party kinda guy, and definitely not the kind Gai’s planning. This is so not what you had in mind, but…Gai looked so eager and excited, talking about the party with such a shine in his eyes, you just couldn’t strip him off of that. Moreover, ever since his injury in the war, Gai has been prohibited from missions outside the village. To a man of his vigour, it’s as good as being put into coma. This is the one thing that seemed to make him truly happy in ages, so to take that away from him… no, you cannot do that.

But at the same time, you really want the day to be special for Kakashi. You want to make it memorable for him and show him how much you love him.

_Ugh._

Your stomach grumbles as you hang your legs down your bedside, preparing to get out of bed. You were so immersed in work last night that you forgot to eat dinner. You’d fallen asleep at the desk itself but you woke up in the morning to find yourself tucked in your bed.

You shuffle your feet around, trying to find to your slippers but they’re nowhere to be found.

“Kakashi!” you yell out, your voice still groggy from sleep. “Are you wearing my fucking slippers again?”

There’s some distant noise of things clattering in the kitchen before Kakashi’s figure comes into view at the doorway, wearing nothing but a pair of joggers, holding a mug of coffee in each hand. He stands leaning on the doorframe as he takes a sip from his mug and the sight of him is one for sore eyes, enough to crumple that temper of yours into a puddle of lovestruck mush. 

“Good morning to you too” he smirks as he comes near you, placing the other cup of coffee on the nightstand and planting a kiss on your head before bending down to pick up the things that had dropped on the ground earlier.

He reaches under the bed and pulls a pair of slippers out, placing them near your feet before keeping the other things back in their place on the stand. Your lip balm, hairclips, a few pens, his book and some loose sheets.

You slide your feet into the slippers, your face contorting into an apologetic look as you watch him.

“I’m sorry” you say in a whisper, admiring the way the muscles on his arms flex as he picks the things up. “I’ve been a little stressed lately.”

“I know” he says, his tone concerned as he comes up and sits beside you on the bed. “Why don’t you take a day off?”

“Oh no, I can’t, there’s so much to do, I have so much paperwork and I need to go through these files to check for—”

“Y/n.” Kakashi cuts you off, taking your hand in his. “It’s okay. Take a day off. Call in sick. You’re putting too much pressure on yourself. Take the day off and stay in bed, I’ll have someone pick up something for you from that restaurant down the street for lunch.” He says, stroking the back of your hand with his thumb.

“But Kakashi—”

“Nope. The Hokage orders it.” he says as you lean forward and sigh into his chest.

“I wish I could Kakashi….”

He wraps his arms around you, rubbing your back. “I knew I couldn’t convince you but it was worth a try” he says into your hair as you close your eyes, snuggling closer to him. The feel of his strong arms around you almost lulls you to sleep, enveloping you with such warmth and comfort that makes you wish you could stay this way forever.

You feel yourself almost dozing off against his chest so you pull away, planting a quick peck on his bare skin before relieving yourself of his grip. “Alright Lord Sixth, time to go to work” you say, patting him on the thigh.

He chuckles, nodding and taking the last sip of his coffee before getting up from the bed. “I left some toasts for you, eat before you go”

He turns around to walk away but you’re quick to catch his wrist before he leaves. “Hey.” You say softly as he stops, turning around to smile at you with a twinkle in his eyes.

“I love you” you say, pulling him down to you with a tug and placing a kiss on his lips.

He reciprocates, before pulling back to look into your eyes. You feel yourself melting under his gaze as you can’t help but smile like a twelve- year old girl.

“I love you too but your breath stinks worse than a dead rat” he says flatly without taking his eyes off you.

You fling his wrist out of your grip immediately, pushing him aside to get up from the bed. “Kakashi, you fucking asshole!” you scream, throwing a few punches at his arm as he chuckles and blocks them.

“I was trying to have a moment, you jerk!” you say, throwing a last jab at his stomach, before walking away past him, towards the direction of the bathroom, his laughter still ringing behind you.

 _Stupid asshole,_ you smile to yourself, shaking your head as you lock the bathroom door and turn the shower on.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

You watch white cotton clouds sailing across the sky overhead as you make your way down your usual work route. You might have appreciated the view a little more if your mind wasn’t entirely jammed and you weren’t surviving of off only 3 hours of sleep, walking around like you just rose back from the dead.

You already know you’re going to be late to work today, but that simply cannot he helped. You have to make this detour. You have to at least give this a shot.

You turn a street corner, a one storeyed white building with a fenced gate slowly coming into view as you walk ahead. Standing outside the gate, you open the latch, walking along the pavement which leads to the main door of the house.

You knock softly on the door, waiting for a response from the other side. There’s some shuffling behind and then the door opens, revealing Gai in a robe with the belts hanging loose. You notice him wearing a bright coloured boxer with banana prints on it, and his hair looks dishevelled, like he just woke up.

“Good morning, Gai! Um… I’m sorry to drop by so early, but there’s something I need to discuss with you.”

“Y/n! Come on in! It’s no problem, my morning is only made better by your radiating face!” he pipes, stepping aside to usher you in.

Only this man can sound so chirpy even with someone barging into their house during the early hours of the day.

“I apologise for my state, I was…. Finishing some business.” he says, taking the belts of his robe and tightening it around his waist.

You stand awkwardly as he closes the door, wondering how on earth you’ll bring this up with him. You shift on your feet, waiting for him to return his attention to you.

“Would you like something? Perhaps some coffee or tea or juice?” he asks, leading you into his living room.

“Um, no thanks Gai.” You look down to the floor, trying to form the sentences in your mind before you speak. You decide blunt and honest is the way to go.

He stands waiting patiently, looking at you with concerned eyes.

_God I’m just the worst person in the world._

“Listen Gai, you start, “… Uhm… about Kakashi’s birthday—”

“Don’t you worry about that Y/n! The plans are full and well in motion! I’m sorry I could not get the singers, it seems that they are all booked for the day but everything else is right on track!” he flashes a toothy grin at you, holding his hand out in a thumbs up.

“That’s great, Gai… But um… Well, the thing is…” you try your hardest to come up with words that’ll soften the blow the most “I kind of wanted to do something special for Kakashi… by myself but now with your party, which is a great idea by the way, it’s just… I’m not sure, uh… I just want to do something for him too.” You fumble, looking up at him from under your lashes to register his reaction.

He stays quiet for a while, looking like he’s deep in thought before looking at you. “I completely understand Y/n.”

“You do!?” you ask, stepping forward towards him. “Oh, thank you so much—”

“It seems to me that you and I both want just the best for my dear rival! And you want to make sure he has the best birthday, just like I do! Which of course means that we should—”

_Oh wait no. Oh no no no_

“—Have a challenge!"

_Just. What. I. Feared…_

“Gai…” you begin, sighing. Your voice sounds so weak and tired, as if any moment now you’ll lose your ability to speak.

You take a few deep breaths, steadying yourself.

_Okay. If this is how it’s gonna be, so be it._

It doesn’t matter what you have to do. You WILL make sure Kakashi has the best birthday and no-one can take that away from you.

If this was another time, you would have gotten Gai to somehow cancel the party. But under present circumstances, you just cannot do that. That would be selfish and horrible. So right now, you simply have to play along and do your best to make the day special for Kakashi, even amidst all of this.

But you sure heck will make sure that YOU’RE the one that makes him happiest.

“Fine.” You say, meeting Gai’s gaze, your voice masking the absolute mayhem in your mind. “Challenge accepted. We’ll both try our hardest to make this the best birthday for Kakashi, and see who succeeds.”

Gai flashes a blinding grin at your words. “Grrr-reat!” he exclaims. “I would expect no less from my rival’s lover!” he says, holding another ‘thumbs-up’ out as you smile weakly, raising your hand up to do the same.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

You take a large bite of your sandwich, looking out at the vast green training grounds from the window beside your desk.

A sandwich is the only moderately nutritious but not disgusting in taste food that you can manage to eat in your 20-minute lunch break, so that’s what you usually stick to. Thankfully for you, you were able to be done with most of your work in the morning, giving you some time to think clearly right now.

You already know you’re not going to get Kakashi alone at night because of the party, which leaves… the morning. But of course, you both have to go to work in the morning which means the only time you’ll see each other is directly before the party since you’re the one supposed to be bringing him. And since he is the Hokage and doesn’t get back from his office until 9 pm, the party is set to start late. By the time you get home it’ll probably be 1 and sure, you can probably have some time with him then but…you will both be exhausted and more importantly, it won’t be his birthday anymore. 

“UGHHHHH” you scream to yourself, tearing off a big chunk of your sandwich with your teeth and proceeding to chew noisily, putting all your frustration into the food churning in your mouth.

“Uhm… is this a good time?” you turn your head at the sudden voice, looking around to see Kurenai.

You hasten immediately to wipe the crumbs off your face as you gesture at her to sit and stuff the rest of the sandwich in your mouth, chugging it down quickly with some water.

“Yes, absolutely oh my god. It’s been a while since I saw you! How are you, how’s Mirai?” you ask, dabbing your mouth with your handkerchief.

“Ah you know, I mostly work from home these days. I was in the area today so I thought I’d drop by and pay everyone a visit”, the brown-haired woman replies, smiling.

“Good thinking” you say, returning her smile. “I’m glad you did, we have so much to catch up on.”

“God yes we do. Oh, and Mirai is great! They grow up so fast.” She says, her eyes filling with the kind of love you can only see reflected in a mother’s eyes. “But enough about me” she says, waving her hand. “I didn’t come down her to bore you with stories about diapers and potty training. Tell me what’s going on with you” she says, leaning forward on the table and resting her chin on her hand.

You let out a sigh, shaking your head before looking out of the window into the distance. “Ugh Kurenai, I don’t even know what to tell you.”

“I got the invite by the way! For Kakashi’s party. I was kind of surprised, didn’t take him for a party guy.” Kurenai says, her brows furrowing.

You look back at her with hollow eyes. “He isn’t. It’s a long story.”, you reply, your tone sounding just as miserable as you feel.

“Well, talk to me Y/n. Is something wrong? You look a little…bummed.”

You let out a chuckle. “Yeah, bummed is right.”

But it feels really good to talk to someone, someone sensible and actually capable of giving advice so you decide to tell her everything, narrating everything from how you’ve been up to your nose with work to how you got roped into having a challenge with Gai, to your dilemma about what to do for Kakashi. Kurenai stays quiet the entire time, listening attentively to every word, nodding and giving empathetic glances from time to time.

“So yeah…. That’s pretty much it.” you finish, sighing again.

Kurenai flashes you a kind smile before she speaks.

“Okay, so… if you aren’t getting any time with him throughout the whole day, how about you meet him for lunch during your break?” she suggests.

Lunch… yeah you hadn’t considered that. Sure, it was only around 20 minutes, but still better than nothing right?

You look at your friend, your eyes perking up as a smile spreads through your face. “Yeah, you know what…that’s a good idea!”

Kurenai returns a happy grin, glad to have been of use. “I know exactly what you should do. Pack a nice picnic basket, take a mat with you, find a good shady tree in the grounds and have a little picnic down by the lake. It’s sweet, romantic and perfect! There’s no way he wouldn’t love it. It beats a party and the weather is absolutely perfect too!”

Your eyes widen at her words _. Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?_

You almost jump across the table, pulling your friend into a bone crunching hug. “Oh my god Kurenai, thank you! You’re a real life saver! That sounds absolutely perfect!” you exclaim, before letting go of her.

She laughs a hearty laugh, before skidding her chair across the floor and proceeding to get up. “I’m glad to be of help Y/n, but I should get going now. Your break is almost over and I have some errands to run. It was great catching up though, I missed being around you” she says, smiling as she turns to make her way towards the door.

“Drop by more often!” you holler at her, before turning your head to look out the window at the beautiful clear sky outside.

_A picnic, yep. That’s perfect. Everything is working out._

_……………………………………………………………………………………………_

You open the drawer under your desk, shoving some loose sheets and files into it before jamming it close.

The clock reads 6 p.m. and you’re finally, finally done for the day. You worked an extra hour to make sure you have less pressure tomorrow and now with your load a little light and a tiny ray of hope about how you can make Kakashi’s birthday a good one shining through, you’re starting to feel slightly better.

Of course, there’s still loads to do. You still have to order the birthday cake, buy some things for the picnic, and pick up his gift which you’d pre ordered a month ago.

You ferret around on your desk to find the notepad you carry with you at all times. That’s where you make all your to-do lists, so that you never miss anything out.

You open the little notebook, flipping through the pages to locate the one where you’d started making a list of things to do for Kakashi’s birthday about a week ago.

You’re flipping when suddenly your eyes fall upon a different entry on the notebook, written in a handwriting that’s not yours.

You bring the notebook closer to get a better look and identify Kakashi’s handwriting at once. Written in black ink on the top of a page is

_To do:_

_1)Kakashi_

You let out a loud chuckle, your laughter ringing all the way out into the hallway.

 _This guy,_ you laugh to yourself, shaking your head. _When did he even write that?_

Turning a few more pages, you finally find the one you’re looking for. You glance at the sentence written in your messy handwriting.

_Read Icha Icha Paradise, Page 162, para 5._

Ah yes, you’d almost forgotten about this. You’d written this down when the idea had occurred to you of re-enacting his favourite passage from that book to surprise him, one that he’d insinuated at, not so subtly, several times. You wanted to do it for a special occasion, and of course this would be just the perfect time. You make a mental note to give that paragraph a read once you return home.

So, re-enacting Icha Icha, a picnic, and his gift. That’s all you’ve got so far. Not bad but still not quite satisfactorily top notch yet. Still nothing that beats all of Gai’s efforts with a 100% guarantee. Something is still missing…

You stare out of the window, racking your brain for something, anything.

Outside, the Sun drapes the sky in its own colours. It looks so beautiful, you can barely take your eyes off for a while.

You watch the sky in awe, lost deep in thought when suddenly it occurs to you— _Yes!_

_Yes, absolutely!_

You. Are. Going. To. Write. Him. A. Poem!

What says you love him with all your heart better than a sweet, heartfelt poem written with your own very hands? It’s sweet and personal and just the kind of touch necessary to make you win. There’s no way anything can top that.

The sudden strike of inspiration sends you into a frenzy as you quickly pull a pen out from your pen stand, opening your notebook to a random page before starting to write.

Only… You have never written a poem before, don’t know how to, never tried one.

You uncap your pen, tapping on the page with the nip of your pen as you think hard, leaving blue dots all over the white sheet.

_Ugh._

_Kakashi your eyes,_ you jot down carefully, taking a minute to look out of the window before turning to your notebook again.

_They’re as beautiful as the skies._

You lean back to admire the sentence you just wrote, a grin spreading across your lips. Great start.

You hunch over the notebook eagerly, scribbling the next few sentences in a haste.

_Kakashi your face, it makes my heart race_

_Kakashi your hair, it’s so smooth it’s unfair_

The grin on your face grows wider. God are you totally killing this or what? This is great, but still needs just a few more sentences.

You close your eyes, tapping the pen against your chin as you try to recall everything you love about him. The grin on your face turns to a curled smirk as you scribble the next sentences.

_Kakashi your dick, it’s so big it’s sick._

_Kakashi your lips, I love it when they touch my nips._

You feel a warm rush through your veins as you look at the words on the page.

Alright, now for the conclusion…

_They call you copy ninja, you make my mind unhinged-ah_

_Baby you can bet, you make me so wet_

_You are my king, you make my heart sing_

You lay your pen down, holding the sheet up to your eyes to read your final work.

And suddenly, the grin leaves your face. What the hell were you thinking? This is terrible.

You’re no poet, why did you ever think you could pull this off?

You tear the page off, shredding it into even smaller pieces before crumpling them together and shoving them into your pocket.

So much for poetry.

You check the time on the clock, it’s almost 7 p.m. and you have to be at the bakery by 8.

You clear your desk, moving some stuff around and throwing the rest of the junk into the trash can before gathering your things and setting off to leave. You pass by the Hokage Office on your way out and find the door closed, with two of Kakashi’s Anbu standing guard outside. They bow at you as you pass by and you understand that he must be in a meeting.

The cool evening air outside hits you like rain following a drought. After being shackled to your desk the entire day, the wind on your skin feels tranquilizing.

You walk along the street, snippets of people’s conversations flowing into your ears as you walk on, your mind boiling over with thoughts of its own.

You begin to realise how completely exhausted you are and that you can’t wait to simply go to bed. All your attempts so far have been completely useless and you most probably will be able to do nothing to make your boyfriend happy. The thought threatens to send you panicking, so you try your best to shove it away for now.

You take your last few strides towards the Bakery, which is decorated with twinkling lights on the outside. You pull on the glass door, stepping into the small store with cakes of all flavours and shapes displayed on the glass counter.

Your eyes dance across the displayed items as you reach into your pocket. You had already decided what you want and had written it down on a paper earlier today.

You scout around in your pocket, before pulling a piece of paper out and holding it out the young girl on the other side of the counter.

“Hi! I’d like to place an order for a birthday cake for tomorrow. The details are written on the paper.” You smile as she takes the paper from you.

She writes something down on a register and looks around to check both her sides before leaning closer to you, almost speaking in a whisper. “Thank you for your order ma’am, you can pick this up by 4 p.m. tomorrow. We have 3 sizes available for the cake, which one will it be?”

“The very biggest one, of course!” you sing. “The cake reflects the man, so it’s only fitting to have the largest one you have!”

She scribbles some more into the diary before looking up again. “And would you like me to add some special details?”, she asks.

“Yeah, why not? Make it your best!” you say as the girl scribbles on the notebook for a last time before handing you a receipt. You make the payment, shoving the receipt into your pocket before heading off for your next and last stop for the day, the market.

……………………………………………………………………

The Konoha Market sells everything from spices to shurikens. You stroll along the cobbled path lined with numerous small shops, each adorned with twinkling lights and a colourful assortment of all sorts of items. Your surroundings buzz with the vibrancy of people scuffling around, chattering and laughing.

You always found something so charming about the village market at night. Something about the way the little shops almost sparkle against the dark sky, or the way it always hums with such an energy, makes your heart feel happy for some reason. You take a deep breath in, various fragrances from nearby shops wafting into your nose at the same time.

You’re on your way towards one of the fruit stalls when suddenly your eye falls upon the unmistakable green figure in the distance. _Gai._

He appears to be speaking very animatedly to the shop owner about something and you watch from a distance in amusement, before the man suddenly turns his head in your direction, catching sight of you.

He waves at you as you make your way towards him. You give him a nod instead of waving back, keeping up with your newly established rivalry.

Upon reaching nearer, you find yourself face to face with a variety of fluffy boa scarves of all colours, ranging from blue to red to yellow to green.

You look in confusion at Gai, who seems to have a dark green one draped around his neck.

“Um… will this have something to do with Kakashi’s birthday tomorrow…?” you ask, your glance shifting between him and the scarves, not knowing if you really want to know the answer.

“It sure does!” he replies, before turning to the shopkeeper. “I’ll take them all!” he says, as the old man proceeds to pack about 20 boa scarves into a bag.

A thousand different questions run through your mind, but if you were to put any more burden on your brain, it would iron out so you decide to simply pretend like you never saw any of this.

“Hope things are well at your end too, y/n!” he says, “I’d hate for you to lose to me, my rival’s lover!”

You take a gulp, avoiding looking at his eyes. Your head feels like it’s being crushed under a thousand heavy rocks as you feel the headache making its way back. You realise your arms can barely hold the weight of the bags you’re carrying, each filled with items necessary for tomorrow.

You look up at him, even the slightest movement of your neck suddenly so troublesome.

He looks back at you expectantly, the twinkling smile still adamant on his face. His teeth shine so bright, you can almost see your reflection in them.

You take a deep breath.

“Of course. Things are perfect, Gai.” you say, flashing him the very biggest and brightest smile that the twenty muscles in your face can possibly manage. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh okay so this is my first time writing a long fic so i'm a little nervous tbh. I don't usually write chapter wise fics so I'm kind of scared that it'll end up becoming anticlimactic or something. I feel like I probably used too many breaks in this chapter to denote different times and it ended up ruining the flow of the chapter or maybe i fit too much into one chapter. idk dhefhjef anyway ummm... I'm not very confident about this fic but... I hope it ends up being moderately enjoyable lol. Thank you so much for reading and for the kudos and the comments! It means so much to me! <3


	3. The Big Day

The feel of two strong arms, one hooking under your legs and the other around your back, lifting you off the chair you’d fallen asleep on rouses you from your doze.

That must have been the fifth day that week that you fell asleep on your desk. You had been reading the para from Icha Icha which you want to re-enact for Kakashi’s birthday, and then all of a sudden you found yourself immersed in the book, devouring every single line, eager to know more about the story and what happens to the characters. So, you’d kept going but before you realised, you’d fallen asleep with your head over the book on the desk itself, with a string of white drool trickling down the corner of your mouth.

You blink in the dark as the arms carry you, melting into their familiar touch, your eyelids so heavy with sleep that you barely manage to keep them open enough to see what’s going on. The arms lay you down on the bed gently, pulling a cover over your body as you shift around in slumber, making yourself comfortable.

You watch a figure go round to the other side of the bed, before slipping in next to you slowly, careful not to wake you up by making too much noise or movement. 

“Kakashi…” you whisper, your voice hoarse and barely audible. “Happy Birthday…sorry I couldn’t…stay aw…” you trail off, falling into a deep drowse before you can finish your sentence.

Kakashi smiles to himself in the dark, his heart filling with such an ache at the sight of your sleepy, drooling face. He drapes an arm over your waist, pulling you close to his chest, his hand stroking your hair at the back of your head as he places a soft kiss on your forehead.

This, this feeling… this is all he would ever want. Just you safe against his chest, the two of you falling asleep together in each other’s arms every night.

“Thank you”, he whispers against your hair, the familiar smell of your shampoo so welcoming to him, soothing his soul after a long day, washing over his mind and carrying his worries away, even if it’s only for the night.

You snuggle closer to him in your sleep as he tightens his arms around you, the feel of your body next to his filling every cell in his body with such warmth, that he gives himself in to the pure bliss of the moment, his eyes closing as he dozes off as well.

Yes, it is indeed a ‘Happy’ Birthday.

………………………………………

You jerk open every single cabinet in your kitchen with maniacal speed, looking for the damn frying pan.

_Where the fuckity fuck did this guy keep the pan?_

Between the two of you, Kakashi is the one who mostly uses the kitchen so he’s the one who has everything arranged according to his convenience.

You’re running on borrowed time, Kakashi should be up any minute now and you have to finish making breakfast before he does so you can surprise him with a nice breakfast tray in bed. You don’t usually wake up before him, he’s the early riser in your relationship but you figured you could reverse the roles for one day and kick start his day with a delicious meal, which would probably give you some winning points. And, of course… something else too. Something that will DEFINITELY give you some winning points.

You find the pan lying right in front of your eyes on one of the shelves and you turn the stove on, placing the pan over it before cracking open two eggs and sprinkling some cheese on them, berating yourself the entire time for being so blind.

On another burner of the stove, four perfect pancakes sit glistening, glazed with some maple syrup you picked up from the market yesterday. You reach for two cups on the counter and fill them with freshly brewed coffee as you hunt for a tray next.

You take a small glass vase and put two red roses in it, which you also bought yesterday, before placing it on a corner of the tray. Finding a notebook lying around, you rip a page off and scribble a note on it, a stupid grin spreading across your face as you write.

_Happy Birthday, Kashi. You’ll always be the Hokage of my heart._

_Icha Icha Tactics Pg 150, line 2. <3 _

_Icha Icha Paradise, Page 162, line 4. ; )_

By the time you’re done, so are the eggs and you gather all the things on the tray, setting the note right beside the vase. You smile to yourself, looking at your creation. Not bad.

_Take that, Gai._

You peek through the door of your bedroom to see Kakashi beginning to stir, and make a quick dash towards the bathroom.

You stand in front of the mirror, checking yourself out in the blue satin two-piece you changed into in the morning, just so you can wake him up with a real jolt.

You pull on the hem of your spaghetti top, revealing more of your cleavage and pull up the waist of your shorts, before turning around to admire the way it accentuates your curves. You fluff your hair up with your hands and take your favourite lipstick from the shelf, before puckering your lips up and dabbing a bit of it on.

You step back, admiring yourself in the mirror.

_Forget a snack, I look like a full meal, baby. Take THIS too, Gai._

Hearing some sounds come from the direction of the bedroom, you rush back to the kitchen. You light a candle and place it on the tray before picking it up and making your way to the bedroom.

“Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthdayyy- ayyyyy Kakashi-ii, Happy Birthday to you!” you sing, swaying your hips to the tune and doing a little dance as you enter through the doorway. You find him sitting upright on the bed, still under covers, his sleepy eyes widening in surprise as he catches sight of you.

He looks you up and down, taking your view in in thunderous astonishment as you place the tray on the bed and step forward to pull his face into a hug against your chest. “Happy Birthdayyyyyy baby” you mumble, smooching him all over and leaving red lipstick prints all over his face.

His hair looks dishevelled and his eyes are still sleep laden as you pull back and watch him look at the tray and then at you, and then back at the tray again.

“This… this is for me?” he asks shakily, looking up at you as you stand beside him.

“Well, duh! Who else would it be for?” you reply in a cheery tone.

He picks up the note from the tray and chuckles as he reads, his shoulders heaving with every snort of laughter.

“Y/n, I…” he fumbles, “This is… I’m…you didn’t have to...” he trails off, looking up at you with eyes that send a pang to your heart.

“Of course I did. You deserve it.” you say, smiling as you sit on the other side of the bed, facing him.

A wide grin spreads through his face, lighting the entire room up and instantly aging him down by about eight years, not that he looks a day beyond 30 right now.

“And…“, he says with a twinkle in his eyes as he gestures towards your outfit, “Is that for me too?”

“For you to rip off, yes” you say in a husky voice, smouldering at him before breaking into a giggle immediately. “Well okay now, dig in, come on! I woke up at 4 am for this!” you say, pushing the tray towards him.

He straightens up, the grin sparkling in his face as he looks at the food in front of him. “Y/n, this looks amazing!” he says, picking up a fork and a spoon before taking a bite of the pancake.

You watch in anticipation as he chews the food and lets out a “Mmmmm. This is really good!”, before digging in for more.

You watch him happily, forgetting everything about the challenge for a while and just admiring how happy Kakashi looks, your heart filling up with such joy and gratefulness to have him, and to be able to share such moments with him.

“Where’s your food?” he asks, looking up at you between bites.

“Ah I’ll eat in a while. This is for you” you say, flashing him a smile.

He stops, holding the cutlery in his hands before fixing you with a deadpanned stare. “Absolutely not. I know what that means. Come here, have a bite, there’s enough for the both of us” he says, holding out a spoonful of cheese scrambled eggs at you.

You roll your eyes at him, but comply, leaning closer and letting him feed you.

The eggs melt in your mouth, the cheese tickling your taste buds. You allow yourself a moment to feel happy with yourself.

You did a great job, no doubt.

The two of you eat in bed, laughing and talking until all the plates are scraped clean.

“That was the best meal I’ve ever had” Kakashi states, shaking his head as he takes his last bite, before putting the tray away to the side.

“Really?” you ask, smiling as you sit up your knees on the bed, watching him wipe his hands, before crumpling the tissue and throwing it into the bin.

You smirk as you crawl closer to him, slowly quenching the distance between you. He returns the smirk, a playful look dancing across his eyes as you put your legs astride his thighs, placing yourself on his lap.

You fix him with a stare, your eyes boring into his as you lean in closer, wrapping your arms around his neck.

“Well…you haven’t had your dessert yet” you whisper, your lips grazing his ear before you give it a light lick, one hand holding the back of his neck as the other trails slowly down his chest, drawing a straight line along his stomach till you reach the waistband of his pants and give it a small tug.

You hear a light ‘clap!’ as the elastic hits his skin and his breath hitches.

You slide down slightly on his leg, making sure to rub yourself against him as you do and pull on the waistband of his pants again, before reaching inside and stroking over his length with nimble fingers. Your mouth trails along his chest in red sloppy kisses… moving down his body…almost about to make contact with what you can feel growing harder and harder in your hand with every touch, when a sudden loud banging noise makes you and Kakashi both jerk up.

Not the kind of jerking you’d hoped to be doing.

The banging grows louder as you look at each other in confusion for a few seconds, before you get off Kakashi’s lap and he pulls his trousers back up, hurrying out of bed and rushing to the main door to see who’s banging so loudly this early in the morning.

You sit on the bed, pulling the fallen straps of your top up and wiping the smeared lipstick off the sides of your mouth as a feeling of dejection starts to grow heavy in your stomach.

The main door can be seen from where you’re sitting and you watch as Kakashi opens the door, a booming voice echoing through the house even before the door is fully ajar.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DEAR RIVAL!”, Gai’s unmistakable voice hits your ears as you watch Kakashi being pulled into a hug before he even has time to react.

Gai shoves Kakashi away just as quickly as he had pulled him in, before thrusting a huge bouquet of flowers, ornated with daffodils, lilies, orchids and flowers of all sorts of other exotic kinds into his hand, making Kakashi stumble with the force.

Even from the distance you can make out the look of pure confusion and surprise in Kakashi’s face as he says “Gai...?”

You can hear both men’s voice as they exchange more words in your living room, but the voices start to fade and the words become incoherent to you as you feel your mind spiralling into a horrible, sinking feeling.

You look away from the door and plop onto the mattress on your back, starting up at the ceiling as you feel the load of your heart weighing you down.

A beeping sound goes off, and you turn your head to the side, catching sight of the alarm clock which indicates that it’s time to get ready for work.

You’d set it last night so that you and Kakashi didn’t get carried away while you made him feel like the happiest man alive.

_Well… so much for that._

Beside the clock, the two red roses you got Kakashi sit still in the glass vase, their wilting bodies watching you, as if in mockery. After all, what’s two measly roses in front of a massive bouquet of exotic flowers?

………………………………………………………..

You look out of the window, up at the sky for the third time since morning.

The skies are still clear, thank goodness. The weather truly is absolutely perfect for a picnic.

You take the fully packed picnic basket out of the cupboard in your office, checking the items once again. Some sandwiches, fresh fruits, yogurt, a bottle of wine, two glasses and a mat.

The morning did not go exactly as you had hoped it would, true, but that’s okay. You still have the picnic and nothing will get in the way of that. You’re still hopeful and you refuse to give up. No, you absolutely will not give up. You had resolved to try your best to make this the best birthday for Kakashi, and you will do everything in your power to make that happen.

Sure, things haven’t entirely been going your way. But that’s fine, you still have the picnic.

You tell yourself this over and over again as you make your way towards the Hokage’s Office, this little internal monologue of yours standing as the only thing that keeps you from crumpling down completely.

The door to the office stands ajar and you notice Kakashi hunched over his desk, putting stamps on a bunch of papers as you enter.

He looks up at the sound of your footsteps, immediate surprising flashing across his features. “Y/n! I didn’t know you were coming” he says, his face lighting up at the sight of you. “What’s that?” he asks, glancing at the basket in your hand.

You smile and make your way towards him, sensing a warm rush flow to your cheeks.

Despite the years that you’ve been together for now, your heart still melts at the sight of him every single time. And there’s something about seeing him in the Hokage’s chair, looking so powerful and authoritative that really gets something going in you.

“What’s your schedule like right now?” you ask once you reach his table, even though you had already asked his Anbu guards to make sure he was clear during lunch time.

He looks at the papers on his desk before glancing up at you. “Pretty free, I’d say.”

“Great”, you grin, holding a hand out at him. “Come with me.”

“Come with you where?” he asks, looking cluelessly at you as he arranges some of the papers into an organised pile.

“Stop asking so many questions, Lord Sixth” you laugh, tugging his hand and pulling him up from the chair.

Outside the Hokage Tower, you link your arm with Kakashi’s as the two of you walk along the path leading to the river. The village looks idyllic, people going about their own business, friendly chatter and chirping of birds ringing in the background. A pleasant breeze hits you and you close your eyes, inhaling the sweet fragrance of flowers it brings along with it. Kakashi smiles down at you and despite the fatigue in his eyes that’s always been a constant ever since he took up the position of Hokage, you see that he looks quite content.

You choose the biggest tree near the river, the one with lots of branches, casting a comfortable shade over the soft green grass. The shadows of the leaves dance across on the ground, swaying and flickering. 

You open the lid of the basket, taking the small rolled mat out and proceeding to unroll it.

Kakashi stands in the distance, gazing at the flowing river. This always was his favourite place to come to whenever he needed a break.

He turns towards you, smiling, before crouching down and helping you lay the mat. “You know you really didn’t have to go into all this trouble for me” he says, his eyes filling up with the same familiar look that he always gives you, every time you do something for him. There’s always a sadness in it that breaks your heart.

“Would you shut up already?” you say, unpacking the rest of the contents in the basket.

He laughs, raising his hands up in defence. “You’re spoiling me rotten. When did you buy all of this anyway?” he asks, watching as you take each item out and place it on the mat.

You shrug in reply, before handing him a sandwich which he takes eagerly, biting in immediately.

“Good?” you ask, “I got it from that shop you really like” you say, biting into one yourself.

“Really good”, he replies, finishing up the entire sandwich in about two bites and reaching for another. “I didn’t realise how hungry I was.”

You get the wine bottle next, taking two glasses out and pouring some into them. The liquid catches the sunlight, shimmering like jewel inside the crystal glass.

Beyond you, the river cascades gracefully down its winding path as you watch in awe, a peaceful silence enclosing its wings around you.

Kakashi smiles at you as you hand him a glass, clinking his glass against yours as his eyes linger on you and you feel your cheeks burning under his gaze.

Even after all this while, he has that effect on you. “What?” you mutter, gazing at him over the rim of your glass as you take a sip.

He shrugs, not taking his eyes off you. “Thank you” he smiles, and you know it’s not just for the wine. Or even the picnic.

You return his smile, leaning in for a kiss when suddenly a voice interrupts you.

“Kakashi Sensei!” you turn your heads around to watch two figures coming down towards you, one with bright blonde hair and the other with bubblegum pink.

The figures get closer and you wave at Naruto and Sakura, the latter holding a small bouquet in her hands.

“Happy Birthday, Kakashi sensei! I guess you really are an old man now, huh? Good thing your hair was white to begin with!” Naruto rambles with his hands behind his head as the young kunoichi glares at him.

“It’s rude to remind a man of his age on his birthday, Naruto”, she rebukes, turning to her sensei to hand him the flowers. “Here, Happy Birthday Kakashi sensei!” she smiles, her eyes crinkling as she does.

Kakashi looks as taken aback as ever. “Thank you, Naruto, and Sakura! This is a pleasant surprise! It’s been a while since I saw you two” he says, placing the bouquet carefully beside him.

“Don’t be standing there you two, come join us!” you say, waving them over and gesturing at them to sit.

“Oh no, we don’t want to interrupt” Sakura says as Naruto crouches down with a “speak for yourself” directed at her, before reaching into the basket for a sandwich and letting out a contented moan with his eyes closed at the very first bite.

You laugh, handing him another of the two remaining sandwiches which he takes happily, putting it in his pocket. “Thank you, y/n sensei, you’re the best!”

You are about to offer Sakura the last one, when suddenly a loud, screeching noise infiltrates the grounds.

Kakashi stands up immediately, walking a few steps over to see what is causing the noise as you dust the crumbs of your dress and stand up, following after him.

You watch his eyes turn the size of saucers as you step in closer, turning your head at the direction of his gaze when you see it.

_WHAT. THE. HELL._

Right there on the middle of main street stands Gai, holding a huge megaphone in his hand. Behind him stands a quartet, each holding an instrument of their own.

“Is that Gai sensei?” Naruto chimes, coming in and standing behind you with the second sandwich stuffed in his mouth.

“What…what is he doing?” Sakura says, going ahead to get a closer look.

All four of you stare frozen as another screeching noise fills the area, making you block your ears with your hands.

“HELLO, MIC CHECK— GOOD MORNING ALL MY DEAR FELLOW FRIENDS!”, you hear Gai screaming into the megaphone, the sound resonating across the next few miles.

“I AM FILLED WITH JOY TO TELL YOU ALL THAT IT IS OUR BELOVED LORD SIXTH’S BIRTHDAY TODAY AND IT IS ONLY OUR DUTY AS HIS COMRADES IN ARMS TO MAKE THIS THE ABSOLUTE BEST BIRTHDAY HE HAS EVER HAD!” He takes a few strides towards your direction, the quartet of musicians following after him.

You watch as several people in the vicinity stop to stare at this sudden spectacle. 

You look at Kakashi out of the corner of your eyes, standing with his body paralyzed as he gapes at the scene unfolding in front of him.

“GENTLEMEN, IF YOU WILL PLEASE”, Gai yells, turning around at the group of men behind him and giving them a nod.

They get their instruments in position and soon a tune breaks out so loud that it almost makes the ground vibrate.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DEAR RIVAL, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU” Gai begins singing off key as several people, shinobi and civilians alike join him. People poke their heads out of their windows in the distance, some coming down, all eager to wish the leader of their village on this auspicious day.

“Gai, what the hell are you—” Kakashi begins, but his voice fades beneath the roaring noise.

Soon a crowd begins to gather, as Gai keeps singing in tune to the quartet, nearing closer and closer to where you’re standing, the rapidly growing crowd following after him.

“This is so cool!” Naruto says, going forward to mix in with the crowd as Sakura follows behind with a “Naruto, wait—“, leaving you to stand alone.

The ground begins to echo with cheers and claps and wishes as everyone comes around Kakashi, surrounding him and you feel yourself being shoved and pushed as group of men gather in front of you, chanting “Lord Sixth!” and singing other praises in his name.

Kakashi stands in the middle of it all, his face reddened in embarrassment as he manages his very best to maintain composure, thanking everyone again and again with the occasional protests which are quickly cut off by the overzealous crowd.

You stand in the distance, watching the crowd devour his figure as you slowly lose sight of him completely.

You take a few steps backwards to get away from the stomping, screaming and shoving and come near to where you were sitting peacefully, just a few minutes ago.

You look down at the ground, Kakashi’s untouched glass of wine and the unopened boxes of yogurt lying near your feet, a few inches away.

You look up at the crowd in the distance again, their deafening bellows hurting you ears as you plop down on the ground in defeat, unable to keep holding any longer.

You reach for your glass, chugging the entirety of its contents down in one swig before grabbing the stem of Kakashi’s glass and doing the same.

Leaving the empty glasses lying on the grass, you reach for the bottle, opening the cap and tossing it somewhere into the distance. You feel your eyes well up, in spite of your every effort to hold the surge of waterworks back. Fat, hot tears start rolling down your cheeks as you chug the liquid down straight from its container, trickles glistening down the corners of your mouth, your throat beginning to burn with every swift successive gulp.

………………………………………

The Konoha bookstore lies in a quieter part of the village, away from the usual chitter chatter. It was made so with the idea that a bookstore should be situated in a place where there’s peace and quiet, a sanctuary for people to seek refuge in when they need to get away from all the commotion.

Unlike most of the newer and fancier shops in the village, the quaint little bookstore carries an old school charm, with its wooden floors, low ceilings and cosy reading lights. The latest spruce to the store, however was the addition of a DVD collection, making it a book and DVD store at present.

Throughout the years, this little bookstore has seen many unions between you and Kakashi, from romantic dates to squabbles over novels and authors. It has also always been very close to your heart, your safe place, the place that provides you comfort even on incurably bad days.

And right now, you’re on your way over to this very bookstore, walking as fast as your legs would carry you. Kakashi’s gift, which you’d pre ordered about a month ago should be here by now. Had you not gotten entangled in a million other things, you would have picked it up earlier.

You can read the little sign, written on a wooden board in the distance as you inch nearer, almost tripping on a rock as you push your poor legs to their very limit. Your body feels made up of nuts and screws more than flesh and blood by this point, ignoring every signal from your brain to work on its own.

Images of the afternoon threaten to break into your mind as you shut them away with all your might, not wanting to recall that horrible meltdown smack in the middle of the grounds.

Thankfully the crowds were too busy with Kakashi in the middle and Gai right by his side, leading the entire village into singing like they were all in some sort of a choir, to notice the Hokage’s girlfriend having the silliest meltdown of her life in the corner.

Moreover, you had made sure to slip away before the mob had thinned out, your last recollection being the tiniest glimpse you caught of Kakashi as you went by, looking as if he wanted the Earth to swallow him whole, as Gai beamed by his side with an arm around his shoulder.

You shake your head, trying to rid your mind of these flashes. You can’t break down again, no. You’re too far into this to give up now. No matter what happens, you have to stick to your resolve. Your hope may be dwindling, but it’s still not out yet.

You reach for the little glass door of the bookstore, pushing as you enter. The musty familiar smell of old books hits you immediately, almost making you feel as if everything is going to be okay.

You glance at the numerous books stacked in wooden shelves, categorised by genre. Some look new, and some display the ravages of time on them.

The shop owner, Mrs. Kimura catches sight of you, beaming as you draw nearer.

Because of how frequently you visit this store, you and old Mrs. Kimura have developed quite a bond. She also happens to be a war veteran, and you’ve spent many evenings listening to tales of her time from back in the days, tales that never fail to astonish you.

“Y/n! Hello! It’s been a while since I saw you!” she greets as you smile at her, even the smallest act of smiling so exhausting to you.

“Hello, Mrs. Kimura. Forgive me for not dropping by more often, I have been a bit busy lately” you say, flashing her an apologetic look.

“Ah, that’s okay dear. Well, what are you here for today?” she asks, the wrinkles by her eyes crinkling further as she smiles.

You fish around for a receipt in your pocket and take it out, handing it to her. “I had pre-ordered a special edition book containing unreleased manuscripts of the Icha Icha series about a month ago?” you say as she brings the paper closer to her eyes to get a better look. “It must be here by now, I’m here to collect it.” you say, unconsciously bouncing your legs as you wait. 

She keeps the paper away, before looking up at you with a sympathetic look in her eyes, her face looking as if she’s about to break the news of someone’s death to you.

_No. Please No._

She notices the immediate flash of horror across your eyes, reaching out her wrinkled hand to touch yours over the counter before speaking softly, as if speaking to a child. “I’m so sorry dear… I know you must have wanted it for Kakashi…Unfortunately, we had some trouble with shipping and it’s still not here yet.”

Your heart pounds in your chest as you hear her words.

_No._

_Is this for real?_

Your hands start shaking beneath hers as you look at her, the tear ducts behind your eyes threatening you once again.

_God is this really happening?_

You pull your hand away, turning around to face away from her and taking deep breaths to try and calm yourself down. 

_This is a disaster. This is a total disaster._

This was your very last hope and now that’s gone too. If you were anywhere other than here right now, you’re sure you would’ve smashed something.

You put your face in your hands, not wanting Mrs. Kimura to see you in this state.

The old lady steps out from behind the counter, coming around to stand by your side and rubbing your back in consolation. “I’ll tell you what dear, let me give you a little something to make up for this mishap.” She says, her voice soothing.

But nothing can make this better. You had managed to maintain your cool every other time because you knew that if nothing else worked out, you at least had this. It was the one thing that kept you from crumbling and now…

You feel a horrible feeling growing into a lump in your belly as you straighten up, fighting back the dam behind your eyes with every cell in your body. You take three deep breaths, before turning to face the old lady.

“It’s fine, Mrs. Kimura. I have somewhere else to be.” you say, trying your hardest to form your face into a smile as she watches you, her white brows furrowing.

You hear her mumble something behind you but you’re already out of the door, onto the street again.

Once outside, you stand out in the lonely lane for a minute, letting out a deep sigh and looking up at the sky, the bright blue suddenly looking so grave.

You walk in the other direction from the one you’re supposed to be going in next, down the lane into an alleyway, rounding into a secluded corner where one of the village junkyards is situated.

A rotten smell of trash fills your nostrils as you see multiple trash cans littered around the area in the dingy dark corner.

You walk in amidst it all, the scattered trash resonating perfectly with how you feel inside. You let your back rest against the mouldy wall, closing your eyes to let the anger wash over you.

You feel it come surging through your veins like a charging bull as you feel your hands forming into fists and your body working against your instincts to raise your foot and hurl a kick towards one of the huge trash cans with a loud, ringing thud.

You’re taken aback by your own outburst as you watch the big metal can wobble on impact and before you realise, you find yourself coming forward, throwing kicks left and right on the can, on the walls, sometimes missing your aim but pressing on again and again and again, persevering through the shooting pain in your toes.

You are right in the middle of your maniacal fit, possibly your ninth kick, when you suddenly feel your balance stumbling, having stepped on something gross and slippery. You tumble as you feel yourself falling backwards, before crashing straight into all kinds of sticky, smelly debris and landing flat on your behind with a ‘thump!’.

You sit heaving in the middle of it all, several used wrappers of heaven knows what things sticking to you as you lift your hand off what looks like… a used condom. In addition to your toes, there’s also an ache creeping its way onto your back.

_Great. Just great._

But you’re hardly surprised by this point. You almost break into a cackle at the thought of your own pathetic, pitiful state before getting back up, doing the best you can to brush your clothes off all the junk sticking to you.

Out of all the things that went wrong in the recent days, falling into a dumpster certainly hits a new low.

You dust your hands as you make your way out of the dark alleyway, a slight limp in your strides as you step into the light again.

Things are so far beyond worse by now, you feel as if nothing can possibly go downhill any further from here. You’ve hit the lowest of the low. Moreover, you are all out of ideas anyway and there’s nothing left that could go wrong.

The thought is almost strangely comforting. Because if you’ve hit rock bottom, the only way from here is up, right?

Checking the time on your watch, you make your way towards the main streets. It’s fifteen minutes to four and you have to pick up Kakashi’s cake.

……………………………………………………………

The Konoha Bakery looks emptier than it usually does, from what you can see through the glass doors as you enter.

That’s good because you’re running slightly late, thanks to your second meltdown of the day, and you have a lot of cleaning up to do before the party. With every other option out of the window, you suppose the only thing left for you to do now is just simply look stunning for your man and have him feeling lucky to have you.

Anko’s suggestion doesn’t seem so bad anymore, she was probably right the entire time. Perhaps you really will just put on a bra with a bow after all.

The young girl from before is the one at the counter again, and she greets you as you walk in, while the other few customers scrunch up their noses at your entrance. You must be stinking really bad. You flash an awkward smile at them as you wait for the girl to assist you, feeling very self-conscious all of a sudden.

She disappears into the storage room at the back of the shop without a word and you feel panic rising within you as you half expect to be served another piece of bad news, instead of the cake you had ordered.

Thankfully for your nerves, and for you since the stink eyes from the customers were getting a little too uncomfortable to bear, she comes back soon enough, holding a huge white box with a big red bow on top in her hands.

“Here’s your order ma’am! Just the way you wanted!” she says with a grin, placing the box on the counter.

Without wasting further time, you flash her a quick smile and hold the box with both hands, lifting it off the counter.

It’s heavier than you’d expected and you almost stumble, catching your balance at just the last moment.

There’s no way, no way you’re letting anything go wrong with this, _hell no._

You tuck your purse under your arm as you try to hold the box, making sure to balance it in your hands. The box is so big, it almost obstructs your view and you struggle to see as you proceed to walk out of the store.

You push the door open with your foot and step outside, barely managing to see anything in front of you as you peek through one side of the huge box to see where you’re going.

Out on the street, you keep struggling your way ahead, relying majorly on your other senses to walk, tripping and stumbling a few times.

No matter what though, you are not about to let this box fall from your hands.

You’re almost near your home when suddenly a very familiar voice stops you, one that you’ve unfortunately had to hear more times than you’d have liked to in the past few days.

You peek across the stooping box to look at Gai, standing in front of you with his eyes bright as ever and the evergreen toothy grin pasted across his face.

He also seems to be carrying some bags in his hands, but you don’t bother asking what they are.

Unicorn feathers for his dear rival perhaps. Or berries of immortality handpicked by tiny fairies from the forbidden forests of the Land of Rainbows. Whatever.

“What is it, Gai?” you ask, “I am not exactly in the best state to stand and chat right now” you say, making no efforts to mask your annoyance while struggling to hold the box up as the purse almost slips from your tuck.

“I am so very sorry, Y/n! Please allow me to carry this for you—” he begins, stepping forward as you take a step back, cutting him off.

“That won’t be necessary, Gai.”

You watch a look of confusion flash across his face and then he says, “Well then, I’ll see you at my party, Y/n! Everything is almost—”

“Yes, I am sure that everything is just _wonderful.”_ , you can’t help but snap. You know that he is only trying to make his best friend happy but with each failure, you can’t help feeling more and more bitter towards the man in front of you.

You feel your patience running out as he says “Well, the cake looks wonderful too, Y/n! I can’t wait to—”

“Yeah, yeah” you snap again, cutting him off, not able to bear it any longer. “I have to go, see you later.” You say, sidestepping past him and walking ahead, trying your best to look dignified and not trip on the way.

You hear him call after you “Y/n, Wait! You have something stuck to your—”

But you pick up your pace, ignoring his calls and walking on with your eyes ahead, hearing his voice get fainter and fainter.

Once out of his view, you stop, looking behind to check the back of your dress and sure enough, find your old friend, the used condom sticking to the thin material of your dress.

You hang your head forward, and exhale heavily into the air.

_So much for dignified._

Once at home, you place the cake on top of your kitchen counter and run immediately to the bathroom, stripping as you go. The stench emitting from you is truly unbearable and the thought of having a myriad of disgusting, unknown things sticking to your body almost makes you gag.

You turn the tap on and wait for the bathtub to fill up as you take a quick glance into the mirror. You look absolutely terrible. You have dark bags under your eyes from several sleepless nights, your hair is all out of order and you just look completely exhausted. Which, well, you are. But that’ll have to change before the party.

You get your favourite, most expensive body wash down from the shelves, the one that you only use on special occasions or when you need to take a nice long bath to unwind. You uncap the bottle and breathe into its mystic fragrance, smiling to yourself.

_Perfect. Kakashi loves this smell._

Next you splash some water on your face, dabbing it dry with a towel before putting on a homemade face mask that always softens your skin and leaves a nice glow.

With the face mask on, you step into the bath, leaning your head back against the edge of the tub with your eyes closed. The warm water engulfs your body, washing away the horrible day, and the stench.

You take a deep breath, inhaling in the fragrance of one of the aromatic candles you lit, and let yourself get into the moment. This is the first time in a week that you have felt truly relaxed and you take time enjoying it. You really, really needed this.

There’s still a few hours to go before the party and you take your sweet time in the shower, washing and scrubbing every part of your body.

You wash your hair, file your nails, put on some nail polish, and lather your entire body with sweet smelling moisturiser.

By the time you get out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, however, you realise that you’re running thirty minutes behind. You got so into the moment that you completely lost track of time.

The clock reads 8:45 and the party is set to start at around 9:15.

You dash to the bedroom, going straight for your wardrobe and racking through all the hangers to find the dress you had in mind for tonight. Sure enough, you cannot find it, so you start yanking each hanger out, throwing them onto the bed one after another. After about seven minutes you find the one you’re looking for, hidden behind clumps of a few other clothes.

You really need to organise your wardrobe, but that’s a thought for later.

You pull out a set of lacy black lingerie from another shelf, a pair that you haven’t worn yet since you were saving it for a special occasion.

You untuck your towel, letting it fall to the ground before slipping into the pair of black underwear. Next you wiggle into your dress, before walking to your dresser to catch a glimpse of yourself.

You smile, looking at your reflection. You have on a red, halter neck floor length dress with a thigh high slit on one leg. It was an impulse buy that you had made on one of your vacations and you recall having worn it only once your twice before.

You turn around in front of the mirror, checking yourself from all angles.

_Definitely not bad._

With the clock ticking, you don’t spend further time on admiring yourself and move on to doing your hair and make-up. You brush your hair into a loose low bun, with loose locks of hair hanging by two sides of your face.

You aren’t one for much make-up, so you go for your usual minimal look, with a bit of eyeshadow, some mascara and lip gloss. To add one last touch of dazzle, you put on a pair of silver dangling earrings and then step back, looking at the final result on the mirror.

Your reflection is better than satisfactory, and a grin breaks out on your face. 

_Kakashi certainly is going to need a moment to catch his breath when he sees **this**. _

Now that you’re ready, you make your way towards the main door, making a mental list of all the things you need to check for before leaving the house.

_Keys, wallet, watch, cake._

You repeat the order in your head as you go around the house, locking every cupboard that contains anything valuable and turning the lights of each room off.

You take the keys off the keyholder from the wall before going up to the kitchen counter where the cake is. How you’ll carry this cake and walk wearing a floor length dress and heels is a good question, but you suppose after all that you’ve been through today, this will quite literally be cakewalk.

The smell of the rich chocolate flavour permeating through the box is overwhelming and you resist the urge to sneak a peek.

There’s no harm in sneaking a little peek. Or maybe even in getting a little taste of the icing?

You giggle to yourself like a child as you tug the bow off and keep it carefully to the side before peeling off the single piece of cello tape that’s closing the box shut.

You slowly begin lifting the cardboard lid up, juvenile anticipation rising in your chest as you grow eager to catch a glimpse of the magnificent cake, until the lid is all the way up and—

Sitting there, in front of your eyes, is a humongous, chocolate covered penis cake, complete with a pair of balls and several veins and even tiny hairs drawn delicately with icing. On top of the cake written in cursive, also with icing is “Kakashi your dick”.

You stare at the sight in front of you for a few seconds, having lost the ability to function.

You keep staring, as an inaudible scream leaves your mouth and you feel your legs wobble, your head suddenly spinning as they give way and you feel yourself losing balance, unable to keep yourself standing. Your foot catches the hem of your dress and you hear a clear ‘screeeesh’ as the flimsy material comes ripping on impact, before you fall on the ground.

You sit staring blankly at the ground in shock, your head suddenly completely empty of thoughts, before you find yourself letting out a loud, long coming, screeching scream that almost tears your vocal cords, into the empty house.

Your voice echoes through the walls as you find yourself unable to keep holding the tears back anymore, letting them come as you feel them roll down your cheeks in streams of water, completely messing up your freshly put on make-up.

You sit with your back resting against the kitchen counter, slowly slipping onto the floor before you’re fully horizontal on the cold tiled ground, crumpled up in a screaming, sobbing ball.

You make no efforts to hold back any longer as you catch hold of the ripped part at the hem of your dress and tear it off with a hard yank, using it to wipe the watery snot running down your nose.

Your shoulders heave as you stay on the floor sobbing, a whimper escaping your trembling mouth from time to time.

You lie on the floor crying for you don’t know how long, the clock ticking by behind you as you make no attempts to move.

_I give up._

_Gai wins._

You tried, you’d gone out of your way, you’d bent over backwards to do everything you could to make Kakashi happy. But despite your best efforts, you couldn’t. You failed. You failed at making him happy. You are a horrible girlfriend and a horrible person. You snapped at Gai and were rude to Mrs. Kimura, who had been trying to help you.

The sobs come harder and you give yourself in to them, your face looking like a wet mess with make-up smeared all over. And your dress… your beautiful red dress…

But that’s not the most important thing on your mind right now.

You recall every single moment from the past two days, letting all the feelings you had pushed to the back of your mind, every single instance where you tried to be strong when you really wanted to scream, flow over and consume you.

Your mind wanders to when you’d placed the order for the cake and you realise… you have no one but yourself to blame for this particular mishap. When you’d shoved the ripped pieces of the poem into your pocket, it must have mixed up with the scrape of paper that had the details of the cake written on it. And like an utter moron, you had handed the paper to the girl without even looking at it. No wonder she had looked at you funny.

_And God, Kakashi’s name was on it. He’s the Hokage for God’s sake._

In addition to self-pity and dejection, you feel embarrassment creep in as you recall the conversation you had had with the girl.

_The cake reflects the man so the largest one you have of course._

Not only did you embarrass yourself, you also, without even trying, managed to drag Kakashi’s dignity into the grounds by involuntarily disclosing details about his measurements down there to the girl in the bakery.

_God what did she even think!?_

Another surge of tears overwhelm you as you hide your face into your hands, realising just what you have done.

_The veins, I suppose that’s what she meant by “special details”_

You bury your face in the cold ground, hoping never to get up again. There’s no way you can ever show your face at the Bakery ever again. Which really sucks because they have the best blueberry muffins in all of the Land of Fire.

You remain lying on the ground for what feels like a lifetime and the tears eventually stop but you feel like trash and your muscles feel weak from all these days of running around and biting off more than you can chew, so you remain on the floor, crumpled into a ball like a snail.

It must be somewhere around 10:30 p.m. when you feel the main door clicking, but you remain in your position, too exhausted to care about anything anymore.

“Y/n!” Kakashi’s voice rings as he enters, almost screaming. “What happened, are you okay?” you hear him as he comes running across the room as soon as he’s inside, crouching by your side to take your face in his hands.

In all the years that you’ve known him, you can count the number of times he’s sounded this alarmed on your fingers.

You study his panicked eyes as you look into them, a sloppy smile spreading through your face. “Kakashi… what’s up, man?”

His brows knit deeper as he takes your state in, your tear streaked, make-up smeared face and your ripped dress. He leans down further and sniffs. “Are you drunk?”

“No, but I should be” you reply, still in the same position as he watches you in utter confusion.

“Y/n, what’s wrong?” he asks, his tone worrisome. You realise he’s breathing fast, like he ran on his way here.

You lift your head off the ground, sitting up and facing him. “The question is, what isn’t wrong?” you say, putting a hand on his shoulder. “And the answer is, nothing. Because everything is completely and utterly wrong.”, you smile again.

You watch his eyes grazing across your face, reading you but saying nothing. He remains quiet, only looking at you, waiting for you to regain sanity.

A few minutes of silence pass before you speak. You let out a sigh before forming the words.

“I’m sorry” you say, taking your face into your hands. “It’s just… I really wanted to make you happy on your birthday, and I failed. Miserably…” 

“What are you talking about?” he asks, moving your hands away your face, shock evident in his voice.

You avoid looking at him, shaking your head. “Nothing. I’m just stupid.”

He comes closer, pulling you into his arms as you rest your head on his chest, matching your breaths to the beat of his heart.

Being in his arms feels like being blanketed in a cocoon and you feel a strange feeling of comfort flood over you. You stay that way in silence for a while before you conjure the ability to talk again.

“So…Did you um… go to the party?” you ask against his chest, still in his hold.

“Yes, but you weren’t there, so I came to look for you.” He replies, his chin resting on the top of your head as he speaks.

You feel a strange guilt forming as you wonder how thrown off Gai must have been when you hadn’t shown up.

“And were you surprised?” you ask, making a mental note of apologising to Gai. Temporary rivalry aside, he’s a good friend.

“Well, I knew about this” he says matter-of-factly and you pull back, looking at him. “But there definitely were surprises.”

“You knew about the party?” you ask, your brows furrowing.

“Well, yeah. Gai tried to hire singers and any gathering of such magnitude requires the Hokage’s sanction and I didn’t want him to go through so much trouble so I denied permission and asked the singers to tell him they were booked, but… he found some way around it, I really don’t know how.”

You can’t help letting out a chuckle at this. “Sounds like Gai. He really went all out, huh?”

You watch Kakashi almost shudder. “You should’ve seen what did for the party” he says, shaking his head.

“Were there boa scarves involved….?”

“You don’t want to know.” He says chuckling, and you smile, taking his hand in yours, glad to have him alone at last, even under these circumstances.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I was the one who was supposed to go get you and I got ready” you gesture at your face and your dress,” But then this happened” you say, reaching for the open box lying on the counter with your hand. “Are you ready?”

He looks at you in confusion as you get a hold of the box, carefully bringing it over and placing it in the space between you.

You watch his eyes widen at the sight before he starts laughing and you join in, staring at the humongous edible rendition of a penis in front of you.

“Well, that is one well-endowed cake” he says, tilting his head to get a better look at it.

You sigh. “Ugh. This whole thing turned out to be such a disaster. This is not how it was supposed to be…” you say, looking down at the ground, your face forming into a frown again. ”I just wanted this day to be special and to make you happy”.

His eyes soften as he looks at you. “I AM happy”.

Inside your chest, your heart starts doing somersaults.

“You bring me a lot of hap-penis, Y/n.” he says, looking right into your eyes with a straight face.

“Kakashi, did you just—"you scoff, “This is not funny! Do you know the amount of craziness I’ve had to—” but you trail off, breaking into a fit of laughter yourself. “You’re such an idiot” you say and he smiles, coming closer to you and pulling you into a hug again.

You close your eyes as he whispers into your hair, “You smell nice”.

“Can’t say the same about you,” you reply without missing a beat but do nothing to let go of him.

He laughs into your hair and you feel the muscles of his chest move as he does. “Yeah, I should go take a shower. I ran on the way here.”

“Shouldn’t you get back to the party?” you ask.

“I’m not going back there.”

“But it is your party. As much as I’d like you to stay, you should go, Kakashi.” You say, pulling back from the hug to look at him.

“I did go.” He protests. “Believe me, they won’t miss me if I don’t go back. Gai is 3 sakes down, he can barely tell his right arm from his left, it’s havoc out there.”

You widen your eyes at his words. “3 sakes down? That’s not going to be good” you say, shuddering as you recall this particular memory from a few years ago where you had had the misfortune of witnessing Gai drunk in a bar. The place had taken 2 months to renovate and your entire group was banned from ever setting foot there again.

Kakashi laughs, recalling the same memory. “So, don’t worry. I am going to go take a quick shower and then I’m all yours for the night.” He says, with a twinkle in his eyes.

You smile at him and for the first time this evening, it doesn’t feel like a chore.

“Wait, let’s cut the cake before you go, it’s been sitting out for too long” you say, getting up with the box in your hands as Kakashi follows.

You come around to the counter, placing the box on top and looking for a knife as he comes behind you, standing with an arm around your waist as he laughs at the sight of the cake again.

“Well thanks to this, everyone in the village is probably going to know now that their Hokage is packing” you say, before proceeding to take the cake out of the box and placing it on a tray.

“Yeah, I had been thinking of ways to get out of this Hokage job for a long time and I think you gave me the perfect reason to resign.” He says as you hand him the knife, chortling.

He remains standing beside you with an arm on your back as he makes the first cut on the cake, and you watch thick white molten cream come spilling out onto the tray.

“Oh my god” you exclaim, laughing in fits as he cuts a slice and holds it out near your mouth.

You open your mouth and let him feed you and cut one of the 'balls' of the cake before holding it out to him. “Open wide” you say, before feeding him the slice as both of you try not choking on your laughter.

He looks at you with those eyes again, before dipping his index finger in a bit of the cream and smearing it on both your cheeks and your nose, before leaning forward and kissing the areas, licking them away.

“Thank you, Y/n” he says and you see the same look from earlier reflected in his eyes.

You lean forward and place a kiss on his mouth, the one you couldn’t earlier.

“Alright, I’ll go take a shower.” He says, kissing your cheek again before turning around to head towards the bathroom. Halfway through, he turns around to call out. “Oh and I found a package addressed to you at the doorstep? I kept it by the couch” he says, before turning back and disappearing down the hallway.

_A package? What could that be?_

Confusion looms over you as you walk up by the couch, inspecting the package in your hand. It looks big and heavy.

You crouch down, unpacking it slowly and find a note attached. You keep the note aside and open the package first and inside, you find a projector, complete with a roll up screen and a manual guide, and a DVD copy of Icha Icha Paradise.

You pick up the note, holding it in front of you.

_Dear Y/N,_

_Please accept this small gift for me, as a token of apology and gratitude for all that you’ve done for me over the years._

_But remember that the best gift a man can have is the company of the woman he loves._

_My best wishes to Kakashi and my love to both you._

_Akari Kimura_

You hold the little note close against your chest and feel your eyes welling up, but not out of frustration or sadness this time. You smile to yourself and make a mental note to personally deliver a bouquet of flowers to Mrs. Kimura tomorrow.

But right now, something else plays in your head as you suddenly recall a line from _that paragraph_ of Icha Icha Paradise.

_His engorged fleshy sword slipped into her moist tenderness, thrumming deep and hard into her honeypot as the petals of her flower bloomed to welcome him into the humble abode between her legs. Their dewy bodies heaved, as if dancing to a melody written only for them and they became one, in a sacred union of love and lust, as they made love under the sparkling stars of the beautiful night sky._

_Sparkling stars of the beautiful night sky._

Your face breaks into a massive grin and you stand swiftly up on your feet and dash towards the bedroom.

You pull out some sheets, a pair of comforters from the storage cupboard and run to your backyard, piling them all on the grass before making a quick dash back into the bedroom and coming back with some pillows and cushions.

You lay the sheets and the comforter carefully on the grass, before throwing the pillows on top.

You hurry back to the living room next, carrying the box containing all the things out into the backyard and set up everything one by one, with the help of the manual. You connect the projector to the DVD player you had in your house already and set up the screen on the two metal stands in front of the makeshift bed on the grass.

You make another quick dash inside your house, making sure Kakashi is still in the shower. You hear some movement behind the door and you yell “Don’t come out now!” before getting some twinkling string lights you have from the store room.

“What do you mean don’t come out? I’m done, I need to get dressed” you hear him yell back from the other side, followed by the sound of the bathroom lock clicking as you run to the door just in time, the string lights still in your hand, and lock the door from outside. “Don’t come out until I say so!”

You hear him utter a confused “What?” but you’re already off, out in the backyard again. You wrap the string lights around, in bushes and trees and clothing wires, before turning them on.

A dim yellow light fills your backyard, flooding the entire place with a warm cosy aura.

You look around to your creation, satisfied with the results and let out a big grin, thanking Mrs. Kimura in your heart.

She’s right. The best thing you can do for Kakashi is to simply be there for him, and spend time with him. You got so wrapped up in thinking about doing things to make him happy, that you forgot that it doesn’t matter what you do, as long as the two of you are together.

Kakashi loves you and you know you make him happy, regardless of whether or not you make any grand gesture on his birthday. 

But that being said, it certainly doesn't hurt to do a little something for him, as long as you don't get too carried away with it to the point that it almost kills you. 

The realisation soothes you and you feel a long-standing burden slowly crumble in your heart as you start to feel lighter, your spirits lifting up.

You hum to yourself as you make your last trip into the house, gathering some of the food you had picked out at the market that day but didn’t fit into the picnic basket. You pull out an old bottle of wine from the refrigerator, filling up two glasses and carrying it outside to the backyard.

Laying it all beside the sheets, you make your way back towards the bathroom and stand outside, facing the door.

“Kakashi?” you call in a soft voice.

“Yeah? Can I come out now? What are you even doing?” he calls back as you smile to yourself at the sound of his voice.

“How well do you know Icha Icha Paradise?”

“All the lines by heart, can we have this conversation when I’m not standing near a commode?” he calls out impatiently as you laugh again.

You reach behind and pull on the strings of your halter-neck tied at the back of your neck, feeling the top of the dress fall to your hips in one swift motion. You slide the rest down your hips, letting it pool near your feet as you step out of it, standing in front of the door in your lacy black lingerie.

“All the lines?” you ask again, your voice teasing.

“Yes”, he replies and you hear him about to start another sentence as you unlock the door, pushing it open. “We’ll test that.” You say, looking into his eyes as you watch him look at you like he just got an electric shock through his veins.

You gaze at him, standing there in a white towel with his hair wet, droplets of water still trickling down his torso as you feel something stir inside you and you smile, not taking your eyes off him.

He still stands there looking frozen as you step forward, and take his hand in yours, even the touch of his fingers against yours suddenly sending a shiver through you.

“I, uh… You look… I’m—” you hear him fumble nervously, visibly shocked as you cut him off.

“Just like the main heroine of Icha Icha, yes” You say in your calmest voice, tugging at his hand, a mischievous smile playing on your lips as he steps out of the bathroom, still looking at you as if he’s not sure you’re real. You pull him by his hand, slowly leading him down the hallway, all the way out into the backyard, knowing that nothing is going to come in your way this time.

You catch a glimpse of the clock as you lead him outside, and see that it’s almost midnight and soon it’s not going to be his birthday anymore but right now, you don’t care.

You don’t care if it’s not his birthday anymore, or if you don’t have rose petals, expensive champagne or a delicious meal cooked.

You don’t care that you couldn’t give him the perfect birthday gift, or that he’s already watched this movie multiple times before.

You don’t even care that all your previous attempts had failed, that even after breaking your back trying to do things for Kakashi, you couldn’t pull a single thing off.

All that you care about, is the fact that he’s here with you. 

In the end, it all worked out just fine, better than you could have ever dreamt of.

But what matters most is the fact that you’re together, and you make each other happy, and nothing else in the world could ever be more special, or a greater gift than that. 

_Just her and him in their own little world, entangled in each other’s arms, laughing the night away and making sweet love under the stars._ (Last Line, Icha Icha Paradise)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh Okay, I had initially planned on posting this on the day of his birthday itself but as you can see, it's a really big chapter and I couldn't finish it on time. I'm so sorry about that but I truly appreciate your patience and I hope you enjoyed the story! I had a lot of fun writing it, even though it was a bit of an unchartered territory for me since it was my first long fic, but I really hope you had just as much fun reading as I did writing it! <3  
> And once again, thank you so much for all the love and the support, it really keeps me going. ^_^
> 
> P.S. - I tried my best to proof read but since it's really long, I may have missed some things. So if you find any spelling mistakes or any words missing or anything that seems out of place, please do not hesitate to let me know! Thank you for reading! :D


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